Longtime Pinnacle Athletic Club is expected to close its doors later this week and the property on West Edison Road in Mishawaka has been placed on the market for sale.The announcement comes several months after Fitness USA shuttered locations in Mishawaka and South Bend. Curves and Anytime Fitness also have scaled back at the same time low-cost Planet Fitness entered the market and Charter Fitness moved and expanded.Adam Schlutt, of Granger, decided to leave Pinnacle over the summer. A member since 2000, Schlutt shopped around at the growing number of new centers across the area and found a better fit at Charter Fitness, which took over the Cardinal name and located to Grape Road.“I look for a gym with a good amount of free weights and strength training equipment. I also look for something with a positive environment, but also slightly competitive. If I see someone working hard, it makes me want to work just as hard,” the Granger resident says.He switched fitness centers based on price and the business operations.Pinnacle’s final day of operations will be Thursday. Until then, the fitness club’s hours and operations will continue with little or no interference to regular business, the owners announced on the Pinnacle website.Pinnacle members will not be billed for November. For members who prepaid membership fees for the year, the balance for the final two months of 2014 will be refunded.An employee answering the phone Tuesday told The Tribune that the owners were not available to talk about the closing. But a representative of Hilco Real Estate offered information about the sale.“The ownership LLC is simply looking to reallocate capital to other real estate developments,” says Steve Madura of the Chicago-area based company that is marketing the 2.2-acre Pinnacle property for sale.It will consist of the two-story, 35,776-square-foot athletic club, as well as the adjacent 3,000-square-foot, multi-tenant office building, according to a company release.Constructed in 1978, the Pinnacle building features a basketball court, handball and racquetball courts, multiple exercise and weight rooms, locker room, whirlpool, sauna and shower facilities. An extensive building renovation was completed in 2005, and then a minor renovation project occurred in 2011, including new paint, carpeting and lockers.The fitness equipment is available together with the purchase of the property, or separately in bulk, Madura says. The adjacent office building, which is designed to house two tenants, is partially leased to LifeBalance Physical Therapy. Pinnacle Playground formerly operated in the other part of the building.The property, which is located between Main Street and Grape Road, is well-situated for repurposing as a satellite campus for one of the many community hospitals or to support the growing medical industry, Madura says.The owners also could view the sale as a turnkey investment and keep the uses very similar to what they are now, he adds. Bids are due Jan. 15.T.J. Jorgensen, of South Bend, used to work out at Pinnacle over his lunch hour every day. Then his company relocated, and the drive became far too cumbersome.Jorgensen stuck with Pinnacle for his weekend workouts for a while, but he ultimately decided to switch over to the Kroc Center.“Pinnacle just had changed so much in the last few years,” Jorgensen says. “The ability to play basketball and take classes, work out in several different areas, including a private ladies-only area — it really was a great club and the closing is very unfortunate.“I made a lot of friends at Pinnacle,” Jorgensen adds. “Some, I fear, I may not see again because of this closing.”Current Pinnacle member Jonathan Hedman is now searching for a new workout home.“It became a second home because of the time I spent there,” says Hedman of Mishawaka, who says he lost more than 200 pounds over two years while working out at Pinnacle.Needless to say, Hedman invested a lot of time at the fitness center — entire days, sometimes, between cardio programs, weights and other exercise. He says he was surprised to hear about the closing this week, but not shocked.“I will look for a friendly, warm, welcoming environment, because that’s what made Pinnacle,” Hedman says. “You can go anywhere and work out, but for me, seeing friendly people on a regular basis is what I’ll miss the most.”

Have you heard?We’ve been hearing from area diners who are anxiously awaiting news about these two new locally owned restaurants. The Spot restaurant, which will feature international cuisine, is opening on Friday. The owner needed a couple of extra days to prepare for his restaurant debut at 236 W. Edison Road, Mishawaka. And Dixie, a planned Southern-style restaurant, cafe and lounge, will be opening soon at 808 E. Colfax Ave., near downtown South Bend.Heidi Prescott’s column runs on Wednesdays and Sundays. Contact her at hprescott@sbtinfo.com or 574-235-6070. You can also talk retail at Facebook.com/thebasket and at Twitter.com/marketbasket. Hear her weekday reports at 6:52 a.m. and 8:52 a.m. on The WSBT Morning News with JT at WSBT-AM (960) and WSBT-FM (96.1).http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/bu ... 6e8b5.html

"Preserving and protecting the principles of the Constitution is the primary role of the federal government."

Ice is probably next. i left to go to charter and i heard they raised their rates, it used to be $50/month for everything, then they split it up so the classes and the weight rooms are two different prices or something silly like that. all i know is the place is empty, i do miss some of the equipment but for $10/month charter fitness is doing fine for me.

Shoppers walk into the University Park Mall food court on Friday in Mishawaka. With some tenant turnover, Champs Sports has been announced as a new store that will join the mall in the future. SBT Photo/BECKY MALEWITZ

January is traditionally the time when retailers assess what store locations are unprofitable and companies make cuts where cuts are needed.It has, in fact, become somewhat challenging to know for sure whether a store is deeply discounting its inventory to make room for spring merchandise or liquidating to close its doors for good.J.C. Penney Co. announced last week that it will close 40 stores by early April, including the anchor store at Marquette Mall in Michigan City. Ann Taylor and Christopher & Banks, both woman’s fashion stores, are closing their stores in the next few weeks at University Park Mall in Mishawaka.Teen apparel retailer Wet Seal already has shuttered its U.P. Mall store, which is among the 338 it is closing nationwide. Vanity also closed at the mall. Macy's department stores announced it will close 14 stores and trim employment across locations that remain open, including the store at U.P. Mall.Retail industry watchers say more closings could be coming from such stores as RadioShack and Aeropostale, while Sears announced it will close 200 or more stores this year.Recent closings have not just affected national retailers and restaurants.During the past few weeks, locally owned Swolfies and Swolfies House of Bluz closed in downtown South Bend. Neither business remained in business long enough to celebrate a first anniversary. Burger King called it quits on South 11th Street, near Rural King, in Niles.Siam Fresh Asian Cuisine owner Nat Buraprateep also closed his restaurant after a little more than a year in business.“I chose to close now because winter is a rough season for the restaurant business. I don’t want to dig myself deeper. The numbers didn’t meet my expectations, and I didn’t want to take on more risk and put any more money in,” Buraprateep says about the difficult decision.“Costco came a bit too late,” he says about increased traffic on University Drive as a result of the new warehouse club. His downtown South Bend restaurant Siam Thai will remain open on Main Street.Most stores and restaurants identified in January closing announcements have been struggling to attract consumers for some time.Penney last week announced it will close its longtime store at Michigan City’s Marquette Mall. Carson’s and Sears are the remaining department store anchors at the long-struggling mall, which was placed on the market for sale last fall.Such actions this time of year should come as no surprise.“After the holidays, we see a reassessment from retailers on their store count, profitability and what they want to do,” says Les Morris, director of corporate public relations at Simon Property Group in Indianapolis. Simon owns U.P. Mall and Lighthouse Place outlet center in Michigan City.The Penney and Macy’s announcements will not affect stores at U.P. Mall, where Simon recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation. Simon officials say University Park remains a strong regional center, despite some smaller store closings typical of this time of year.“The names may come and go, but the demand for those proven locations is unabated and the supply is limited. There aren’t a lot of new regional malls being built,” Morris says. “The names on the door might change, but there will be new tenants.“It’s not turnkey, however, where one goes out and another comes in seamlessly," he adds.U.P. Mall spokeswoman Beth George offered news last week about new stores coming to the Mishawaka mall and existing retailers that are planning moves or expansions:• Champs Sports will join U.P. Mall this spring, though the location has not yet been announced. The sports apparel, footwear and equipment store is owned by Footlocker;• Victoria's Secret will be expanding its current location by summer. The store will move into a temporary location at the former Vanity space while its store is under construction;• General Nutrition Center will relocate in the mall by summer; and• Lids will debut a new store look in its current location this summer."Since the renovation, our property is getting more interest from national brands," George says. "Numerous other negotiations are in progress and we look forward to making more announcements this summer." Because of the ever-changing tenant mix, Morris says, the interest retailers show in a mall property also changes. “You have stores that realize we’ve added Apple and Michael Kors at University Park and now they want to be there. Their brand wants to be there," Morris says. "If you have shopping centers that are well run, clean, inviting and well maintained, it's our belief at Simon that you'll always have retailers who want to be there. The demand for proven locations is unabated."Club changes ownersEastlake 24 Athletic Club, based in Elkhart, has taken over the former Anytime Fitness center at 1202 E. University Drive in Mishawaka, at City Plaza.The new club location means any Eastlake member in the region can now use the center, where there will be some future cosmetic improvements. Group fitness classes also will be added. This is the eighth area location for the locally owned Eastlake Athletic Club business. Have you heardThe long-awaited El Arrero opened its doors last week at Carbon Mill Plaza, located at Brick Road and Ameritech Drive on South Bend’s northwest side. … SkyZone indoor trampoline park is looking at a Grape Road corridor building where it hopes to open in late summer or early fall. ... Chicory Cafe owner Phil Schreiber says the expanded section of his downtown South Bend restaurant is now open. Located at 105 E. Jefferson Blvd., Chicory expanded into a vacant storefront to the north to add seating and better accommodate customers. Prepackaged grab-and-go meals are planned and Chicory Cafe now offers craft beer on tap.http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/bu ... bf181.html

"Preserving and protecting the principles of the Constitution is the primary role of the federal government."

The Mishawaka OfficeMax is closing its doors, as part of a plan announced when the office supply company merged with Office Depot in 2013.OfficeMax is scheduled to close Nov. 14, company officials said.The office supply superstore has been located at 5520 Grape Road, in Wilshire Plaza, for more than 20 years.Customers will continue to be served by the company at the nearby Office Depot store at 331 Indian Ridge Blvd., next to Home Depot, said Julianne Embry, spokeswoman for Office Depot.OfficeMax and Office Depot, two of the leading U.S. office supply retailers, completed a merger in November 2013.Last year, new parent company Office Depot, based in Boca Raton, Fla., announced plans to close about 400 stores across the country over the next several years.About 265 stores have closed through the second quarter of this year, Embry said.Office Depot will help Mishawaka store associates affected by the closing, providing eligible associates with a severance package and other company subsidized benefits, she said."Also, where possible, we're working with our associates to identify open opportunities in our neighboring stores or in other areas within the company," Embry said.Beyond the completion of that merger, one involving Office Depot and Staples that was announced in February is now in the hands of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.No plans have been announced for the Mishawaka OfficeMax store, which is located at a shopping center that has seen recent leasing activity.Contractors were seen outside and inside the future new Fresh Thyme Farmers Market on Wednesday. Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is moving into the former Room Place furniture store adjacent to Hobby Lobby.Sky Zone is also under construction behind Fun F/X, a locally owned Halloween costume and party supply store. The entrance to the trampoline center will be located on the back of the building along Douglas Road. Sky Zone is expected to open in November.

Fresh Thyme moving Mishawaka?! That's awesome. After moving to the Indianapolis area Fresh Thyme has become my favorite grocery market to get fresh produce. 100 times better than whole foods. In my opinion Fresh Thyme is the best grocery Market in the entire State.

St. Joseph County health officials temporarily close South Bend Steak 'N Shake for undisclosed violationsA parking lot at the 1315 E. Ireland Road Steak N Shake sits empty Thursday as the restaurant has been ordered closed by the St. Joseph County Health Department, pending a health officer hearing set for Monday, Oct. 26. SBT Photo/JEFF PARROTT

The St. Joseph County Health Department has temporarily closed the Ireland Road Steak 'N Shake for undisclosed health code violations.The department has scheduled a health officer hearing for 11 a.m. Monday. The restaurant’s management has been asked to appear before health officials and discuss the violations. The restaurant could be allowed to re-open after the hearing, according to department policy.The chain restaurant, known for its steakburgers and milkshakes, has been closed since an inspection occurred on Monday. It was unclear what types of violations were found. Under department rules, inspection reports are not a matter of public record until the hearing or 10 days have elapsed since the inspection, said department food service director Carolyn Smith.Shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, people could be seen pulling up to the drive-through and walking up to the restaurant's front door before learning it was closed. A red piece of paper with the words, "St. Joseph County Health Department...Order to Close," was taped to the front door.A person who answered the phone at the restaurant Thursday said it was closed because “we’re getting some repairs done and we probably won’t be open until Monday.”General Manager Tyata Carpenter said company policy prevented her from talking with the news media. She advised The Tribune to call back later Thursday and ask whether District Manager Stacy Penix would be available for comment. Attempts to reach Penix later there were unsuccessful.It’s not the first time the location, at 1315 E. Ireland Road, has had problems. It had been cited for 129 violations over 21 inspections from 2010 through June of this year, with 38 of the violations deemed critical, according to department records obtained by The Tribune.Of those 129 violations, the most common type, comprising 17 violations, was “warewashing general,” a state health code category that covers cleanliness of appliances and equipment in the kitchen. The next most common, with 12 violations, was “holding temperatures,” meaning foods were measured at temperatures that were either too high or too low to prevent bacterial growth.

it's surprising that they lasted this long. They have been around what 40 years, or more? I think the competition stems not from anything that remotely compares of business related, but more of people looking towards outside activities and of the small screen a foot from their face.

Molon Labe

The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. Aristotle